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Sunday, March 9, 2014

Where should the birds fly?

3/6

Anna comes in for a long conversation. And brings chocolates.

Marc is running the movie, making sure that
everything is set for tonight’s screening of Where Should the Birds Fly?

Danielle and I are working hard to get everything
ready for the film and Rachel keeps wanting to help. An early arriver for the
film wants to help too. Rachel of course attaching herself to the volunteer.

Soon it’s time for the movie. Tonight is special
because we have the filmmaker, Fida Qish with us. It’s a devastating movie about
the siege of Gaza, and especially the Cast Lead operation which killed over 500
Palestinian combatants and over deaths of 900 unarmed civilians as opposed to 3
Israelis. The story is told through the eyes of 9 year old Mona as she is
witness to the deaths of her parents and other family members.

I remember my own visits to Gaza, first in 1979
following the signing of the Israel-Egypt peace treaty and then in the 1980’s
after the Sinai had been returned. I remember the hulking Israeli watching
towers ominously looming over the urban centers, container after container of
rotting oranges prevented from being exported and the sense of being in a
constricted prison in one of the most densely populated areas globally.

Sometimes from our audience after screenings,
voices arise accusing us of not showing a balanced view. Stories like this
demonstrate how difficult it is in the US to get a perspective sympathetic to
Palestinians presented in public.

Russ and friends

The question for us as Americans, is of course,
what is our responsibility? What would the situation be like if Israel did not
have the 4 billion dollars a year in aid from the US? The fact is, the
occupation is primarily funded by our tax dollars publicly and our investments
privately. To hold our elected officials accountable, including Mayor Di
Blasio, is a daunting challenge. But we can’t criticize Israeli policies
without looking at our own responsibility.

I visit with Palestinians who have come. An
Armenian Christian hair stylist. A woman doctor from Ramallah who has come with
an Israeli colleague and of course, the filmmaker Fida. We’ll be back again,
next week.